The snarling elegant beast in need of Carroll...or a ballerina
Wednesday, January 5, 2011 at 3:22PM Being Spurs means you spend an awful lot of time preparing yourself for a fall. Whether it’s a game we are expected to win or the final nervous ten minutes with backs to wall, heroic and clumsy in defending. You bite your nails, chew through your hand and then munch up your arm until your mouth turns and starts eating through your face and head. You get the picture. It's brutal. I'm sure most fans of other clubs experience similar levels of impact that expectations can have on the heart, mind and soul. For us, it's been in our DNA for decades. But alas, no longer. The wonders of genetic engineering, breeding new Lilywhites with traditional flaws eliminated. Not quite perfect, research costs money and takes time. But this hybrid beast is one that does things it wasn't originally born to do in prior incarnations.
It's snarls. It bites. But can still move elegantly.
This is a new age and we are having to, every now and again, give ourselves a steady slap to our own half bitten face. A reminder that things are not quite what they use to be. And that when quirks, hiccups do occur - it's not a complete throw-back of past darkness but rather the type of blips most top tier teams and sides vying to be top tier suffer from by virtue of averages. You can't always play well. Secret is to still win when you don't. And that takes guts and focus, because you can find yourself having to do so often meaning it's easy to self-doubt and allow heads to drop despondently. But if you believe...
Belief is something that comes with winning and is the blood that pumps through the veins as you go from walking to sprinting to running. You can measure all this by how disappointed we are with our failure to beat Chelsea at home (not the best example due to the dramatics of the final ten minutes). But the point being, we win and draw far more than we lose so therefore, we fuel our progression onwards. We don't have the fear in us. And we don't drown in our own giddiness either, thanks to our focus shifting from one game onto the next.
We didn't play stupendously well over the Christmas period. Arguably you could say we've had pockets of pomp across the whole season, never outstanding one game after another. A case of one day we either play with swagger and win or we play with fragmented balance and still win. And on the odd occasion we lose. That extra bit of experience Manchester United (along with having whathisface Ferguson at the helm) sees them undefeated. Growing pains have had us on the receiving end of one or two nil points. As expected. We are still susceptible to those blips thanks mainly to some inconsistency to the backline and the lack of obvious stone cold conviction up front. But we are pushing to better ourselves. All the time. On the up, no argument there.
So having accumulated nine out of nine, what of our next trip?
Everton away, statistically, would have most predict this as a draw or less. Got to place hand on heart and say I will be gutted if we don’t win. Because statistics aside, pound for pound, we should be containing and beating them. With no disrespect meant to the Toffeemen. The way we've played in recent games has seen us display traits that personally say a lot more than a textbook Tottenham dvd performance.
We grind, we fight. Down to ten men twice, so what? Let's pass the ball like there's twenty of us running around the pitch. And then the pockets of pure scintillating counter-attacking football reminds us all that even at 60% Spurs can produce a 95% moment of devastation that results in three points.
I hope that there is not too much tinkering in terms of squad rotation tonight. Although it's not an imperative end of days must win, it's most defiantly an opportunity to continue with the momentum, when you consider that other clubs might drop points this evening. Also, complacency. We have to respect Everton and not take it all for granted. Obvious statements. Basics.
Which brings me to the conclusion of the article (almost). As we continue to push forwards, avoiding the blips, there is no need for a massive rock of the boat. We're sailing. Just need to fit it with a powerful motor to speed things along. A basic, simple and obvious addition(s) if we want to reach our destination before others.
Running theme this season: consolidation. We have the players to deliver the bullets (Lennon, Bale, vdV, Modric). All we need is the hit-man with the gun ready to pull the trigger. Doesn't have to be anything more than what's required. For the right amount, Carroll would do. What with Dzeko gone to City. But mugging off Newcastle with a bit of money and a couple of players in a swap would probably take some supreme hypnotising from Levy.
Carroll might not exactly be the White Drogba but if you forget about his age and his lack of Prem experience and the way he looks - and close your eyes and imagine him on the pitch running down the centre giving our players a genuine target who can head and smash it in, there is hardly need for over elaboration. Does he work hard? Yes. Does he work the channel with fire in his belly? Yes. Is he a ballerina? Well no. You can't have everything.
The counter argument will obviously be one that he lacks the intelligence of a Benzema or one of the many other continental forwards like Llorente we've been linked with (I wouldn't say no to either of them by the way) and that Modric and van der Vaart and all our intricate play just outside the box would be wasted on him. Although quite how a threaded ball will confuse the big lad, I don't know.
'He's just a tall Jermain Defoe' you might say. 'He's just a more weighty Peter Crouch' you laugh. Any foreign player could always turn out to be just another Pav or Rebrov. And our current batch of forwards are hardly masterminds of movement. We all know Harry likes to keep things…simple. Of course, we also know Spurs at one point wanted (supposedly wanted) Kenwyne Jones. Who is obviously the black Andy Carroll.
We'll see. As long as the chairman and Harry sign players they want or accept wonderful wonderful opportunist gifts like the one Madrid gave us last time round. And as long as we don’t splash money on a player who is not worth the splashing when the splashing soaks you in cold water (in other words, Bent wasn't worth £16M, neither was Bentley and a thank you to Sunderland for pricing us out of Jones at £20M). To spell it out, for the money Newcastle will want, it's probably a non-starter. But it's good to talk.
And regarding Beckham, like I mentioned in a previous blog, he will do well for us for what he can do on the training pitch.
And to finally conclude, regarding Everton away, I'll take another three points. Swagger or no swagger. If it's good enough for United, it's good enough for me.
Reader Comments (62)
2-0 to us and a good performance.
I'll take the combination of Defoe and Crouch as long as he can put the ball in the back of the net.
Always enjoy your blogs.
1-1. Sorry to poop on the hype.
yes 3 pts please
Trifle harsh to bracket Pav in with Rebrov dontchathink?
Regarding tonight, I don't want to see Harry "rotating" in order to give someone a rest.
That's what Sunday's game against Charlton is for!!
We need to be as close to full strength as we can be, ensuring that nothing is dropped at Goodison.
Hutton, Gallas & Keane are apparently "doubtful", not that the latter would play even if he was fit.
I'm expecting:
Gomes
Corluka, Dawson, Bassong, BAE
Lennon, Palacios, Modric, Bale
VdV
Crouch
We don't have to be too defensive with the midfield as Cahill is on international duty, and they also have their best defender (Jagielka) missing through injury.
As for new striker - I'd rather pay £15 million for Carroll than risk £20+ million on someone who has banged in a few goals in Germany (Dzeko) or in Holland (Suarez). He'd definitely be a better option up front than Crouch/Pav!
beckham now carroll, it gets worse by the day. Who next? Re-sign mido???
Unsure about Carroll really. I have watched him on MOTD and Sky a few times but can't really see what the fuss is about. Marginally better than Crouch perhaps but shouldn't we be aiming higher than that? (no pun intended).
If we do end up signing him however, it should be part of the deal that he sorts that ridiculous barnet out. I know A&E has his follicular moments but he can pull it off! (unlike the Cruyff turns inside his own penalty box)
In terms of Pav and Rebrov, all I meant was they both have flattered to deceive. More so because they are not the right type of fits for the club. If Pav was our main striker and played every week, I'd still worry about his general movement and lack of touch at times. And he's the wrong side of 26. Rebrov was class but just couldn't cut it at Spurs but then he was surrounded by some very average players.
John. We've got Rivaldo lined up so don't fret mate.
People seem to think we can go out and buy a world class striker. Is Dzeko world class? Regardless he's going to cost City £27M. How do we compete with that exactly? And you would class Dzeko as a Berbatov type of signing had we got him under the radar. But there is such a lack of big names and big names is what is required to appease most of you lot.
If Carroll cost £10M. I'd sign him. Anything more and I wouldn't. I wonder if our scouts have seen any decent 'unknown' players to the masses out there we could snap up and shock the world with?
We need someone with hunger and desire. Scoring, heading, movement - these are fundamental abilities any of our targets should have otherwise we should not be looking in their direction.
I see what you've done here Spooky.
Carroll is the man of the moment. And it scares me.
Spurs have 2 hopes of landing Carroll.....Bob Hope & No Hope. He is a proud Geordie boy & will stay at the Toon for at least 2 more years if he leaves he'll go to a top club not a wannabe like you lot
Yeah, man of the moment. Why not then?
Bent.
Bentley.
Carroll.
Oh, I see what you mean.
find a word beyond scared, petrified?
perplexed in ones personal piss?
Andy caroll i applaud you
if micheal calamity dawson with the speed of a paraplegic and the courage of a suicide bomber can put the shackles on andy the jugger nought carroll over 90 it is really saying something
I agree with Author of Comment. £10m absolute max for Carroll...however Newcastle will not sell for that, at least not without Keane as a makeweight.
I am also crossing my fingers that the scouting team have something up their sleeves....Berbatov came out of the blue, Modric wasn't the hottest ticket in town at the time either.
On Everton away....I'm hoping for 3 points and a clean sheet bit I think it may be a draw. 1-1 Modric to dink the keeper and Pienaar to nab one and impress his potential new employers.
Kenwyne Jones, the black Andy Carroll - jokes
Seriously! The best Spurs blog out there!!
Spooky i love you,i want your babies..!! p.s.i kinda think A&E pulls off the Cruyff turns quite well.....COYS
Miroslav Klose, cheap, expirienced, and one hell of a finisher
Andy Carroll would fit the bill perfectly. He's raw, strong, a great header, fast for his size and if teamed up with classy Modrich & V/D Vaart he would be sensational. It's clear to see that our strikers (ex. Defoe) are not up to it. Pav & Crouchy are far too easily brushed off the ball and they NEVER look like scoring. He's going to be England's number one striker in the future and imo there's no-one else with such potential at the moment. Not even Bent :-)
i think we need a song for BAE
anyone else notice how he's always standing up in the team huddle before kick off whereas the rest of them are all bent in listening intently to whatever dawson is saying
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/may/01/benoit-assou-ekotto-tottenham-hotspur
excellent article
Who the fux Kenyon Jones
From a football perspective signing Carroll is a no brainer.
Stick him in the middle, feed him crosses from Baler/Lenny on the flanks, feed him more through passes from Rafa/Luka, and he will score hat tricks every game and Spurs will dominate the football planet.
Now that sounds pretty good but there are some negatives. We have to accept that Pav and Crouch and Defoe are just not good enough and that tramples on the itty bitty feelings of a few. Plus his bonanza of goals will raise the awkward 'wtf didnt we sign him in the summer?' questions.
Not to mention the most important point that most of our fans have a hard on for one of our strikers but Carroll is not sexy. He fell off the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down. I think that is the clincher myself. Cannot have an ugly striker even if he does win you the title. Better to have a nice boy and a pretty boy every day.
Probably see another goaless performance tonight from our super strikers so the midfield will have to deliver yet again. 1-0 to Spurs. Thank you very much.
TBH a guy with 10 assists (tranfermarkt) and like 11 goals is better than anything we have UPFRONT, yeah our midfield is bailing us out with goals from Lennon,Bale and VDV etc... but everytime i see him he looks dangerous and only needs one ball in the air he will get it and score, he is the definition of deadly from what i've seen i havent seen him miss many chances he usually scores, we just dont have enough money if we paid 16.5 Million for Mdoric who was rather unknown back then there is no way in hell we can get Andy for less than 10£ he is worth double or triple that in NUFC eyes, i think we should put this to bed he is an amazing striker but we cannot afford him we should look at Dzeko or players who are willing to go.
BAE is the footballing equivalent of the fonz................
ay!!!!!!!!!!!
1-0 to us i hope tonight, cant see it being a quality game.
carroll, on the evidence of the 2-0 game the other week, wouldn't be a great signing - but at least he can score a header unlike TMP.
PSB maybe off to the blue brummies according to the BBC.
which means we will/should get a replacement.... no doubt Arry has got something up his sleeve... it would be nice if santa had bought Defoe his swagger back...
i would go all out and buy Torres and a big box of plasters... sell Keane and one out of Defoe/Crouch to make up the case difference.
controversial?
I agree with DazzaTHFC about Klose...could be good in the short term. Klose in and Keane out in this window and then look for a 'big' signing in the summer with one more to make way.
i meant cash not case...
*this post was brought to you by the defending of BAE*
Arry's words " the chairman wants me to find someone to take us to the next level but I don't know where that player is"
Having made an official approach this afternoon I would think they have both decided it is Carroll. He is the lone striker that we need to compliment our current best system with VDV in the 10 role! We just don't have a striker that fits the role at the moment-Also he fits Levy's policy of buying young and british. He has scored goals and bullied defences in the premier league and with more chances (which he will get a t spurs) by the law of averages should score a lot more goals!
Also just noticed the Brum lot are going to take PSB off our hands and i think the more ££££s we can offer Mike Cashley the better. He's not interested in player exchange in my opinion.
On that note all Joking aside I'm not sad to see Bob Keane leave but want to say a public thanks for all the goals and the good times-not so much the past 2 years but for the 100+spurs goals, rolls and imaginary arrows shot into the crowd over the years!
I'd take Carroll for £10mil - £15mil or so, but all the talk about letting the barcodes have bentley, keane and kranky and a few million is ridiculous!
I'd quite like to see a bid for Romelu Lukaku... He might be playing in a crap league, but finishing is finishing and he sounds like he's growing into a model professional...
lukaku would be silly money and if we cant compete for the likes of dzeko we stand no chance for this teeange sensation
I ask this with all seriousness and am in no way intending to be a prick...
But, if this was SAF/United talking about Carroll a Spurs player, wouldn't you all be frothing at the mouth at the injustice of it all? Wouldn't there be talk of unsettling a player and tapping him up and all that mess? So, how is this different?
Wasn't impressed with Carroll when they played us, at all. That said his record appears to be good so far. I still think that it is a risk but i think everyone would be. The one advantage of him is that even if he had a mare he would have a resale value BUT the hair has to has to has to go, seriously, its a deal breaker for me.
Tonight: spooks you sum it up perfectly as always, the only thing I will add is that i think if we can score two we will win, just not sure how we can score said two :$
it looks like the goal machine crouch is up front so thats where our goals will come from then................................................... the midfield
Stating that because Carroll didn't have a good game at WHL a couple of weeks ago isn't a valid reason not to sign him.
Yes "paraplegic calamity" Dawson kept him quiet as johnhalloween so nicely put it but I've seen some of the so-called best strikers in the Prem kept quiet by Dawson at the Lane... Tevez said he's the best English centre half he's played against!
Can't remember Tevez, Torres or alike having too many magic memories at WHL in recent times. Not a strong argument against securing his signature. Almost as ridiculous as not signing him because of his hair!
He is far more of a complete striker than any we currently have at the club and I can see Ashley cashing in on him. If the lad has aspirations to be one of the best strikers in Europe then he has to grasp opportunities like this with both hands when they come along... problem is, whether or not he's worth it, I honestly can't see Newcastle selling him for anything less than £20m!
COYS... massive game tonight, but aren't they all!
I would take Carroll, but be under no illusions, he will cost a massive amount. Ashley will sell him for a big over the top amount of money. As spooky said, we just need a solid simple player to bang the ball in the net when gifted from all our gifted players!!
Tough game in store tonight, very tough but they are missing key players so fingers crossed.
COYS.
Carroll has all the attributes to be top top drawer, I'm a Spurs fan living in Newcastle and most of my mates are Toon fans and have been raving about him for a few years now, first as a young player who was on fire for the reserves, then last season when he broke into the 1st team and was scoring plenty in the Championship and now this year. I had my mates season ticket for the 1st game at St James' this season when he got a hat-trick v Villa. His movement was excellent and his good movement was a real problem for the (admittedly shit) Villa defence. My only problem seems to be the fact that he seems to have the brains of Terry Fu(kwit. He's also surprisingly quick for a big lump. If, and it's a big if, he can sort out his stupidity off the field I'd welcome him at the Lane. If he wasn't so much of a problem off the field I would say just pay Ashley what it takes to get him. as it is he's a bit of a nightmare off the pitch so I would have serious concerns about spending big on him. Harry might do him good though. Also Newcastle is a really small place relative to London and everyone supports the team he plays for. Every time he's out in Newcastle he gets mobbed, He'd probably get away with a bit more anonymity in London as he's likely to attract a little less attention which may help his situation off the field a bit. Definately a bit of a conundrum.
spooky...you like about Jenas...but truth is he's fucking SHIT!
I didn't think we were great but not bad either. Everton totally outplayed us. Had we nicked a point it would have been robbery. They deserved it and we didn't.
Oh well.
Ronnie-I would say Jenas could at least control the ball to have us keep posession. Krancjar was dreadful after he replaced Bale, feel kinda bad for him, but he was completely out-hustled and out-muscled.
Oh yeah forgot, otherwise Jenas was terrible.
BAE + Afro Poof = 0 points
Forgot how painful losing is.
we need Parker or Diara desparately. Jenas is monumental bullsh*t...and Palacios cant concentrate. Oh Hudd! please get better, if only so you can help keep Jenas away. Bale is hurt... so fatso Kranjcar is here to torment usc. Hutton was poor. Modric cant play with that Jenas thing. Atleast Crouch tried his best. He's poor, but he's tall.
Back down to earth with a bump, only saving grace was Arsenal, City and Bolton dropping points. Was dreaming for a couple of weeks there, over the 4 games i would have gladly settled for 9 points but still dissappointed. I have said it on other threads that the only striker in Europe to fit the bill is Llorente from Bilbao, the guy is great in the air, superb with the ball at his feet, 6`2" tall, has a great presence, holds up well and can play on either wing if reqd (if Lennon or Bale are injured or suspended) THE MOST VERSATILE STRIKER IN EURORE...........if we don`t get him City, Real or Barca will and he`s not cup tied for the champs league. At 25 he`s the right age to pen a 5 year contract and would be the difference between a very good season and a brilliant one. Hey guys check out the site....FIFA Baloon d`or....It has the ten best goals of 2010 and i think the goal by Mattie Burrows should win..............Result to be announced next monday...........We need goals like these for the rest of the season, Messi`s was far from the best tho`. Going to get stuck into this litre of Smirnoff now .....Cheers.
Jenas...... what a fucking donkey. And Harry, fuck you too, for playing that idiot ahead of Sandro. Sandro should just ask for transfer because he aint going to get a game at HR side for as long as fucking donkey can stand on its feet.
Whoever else of the shity teams is left out there that has a winless drought just wait till Santa Harry comes to your town and entrust Spurs’ midfield to donkey Jenas.
4 games in 11 days, they're tired , and Everton playing for their lives. Disappointed but understandable. Keane as bad as he is and 31 still has teams interested ,that fucking Jenas we're stuck with till he retires